Improvement in gun-carriages



2 Sheets- Sheet l J. B. Lyons, Gun-Carriage.

No 38,831. Patented June 9, i863.

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2 Sheets-,Sheet z J. B. LYONS.

Gun-Carnage. No 38,831. Patented June 9, 1863.

N: PETERS. FHOTaLLTNDGRAPHEn, wASHxNGToN. DACA UNITED STATES JAMns nLYoNs, or LITCHFIELD, CoNNnCTiCUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN GUN-C ARRIAGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,@31, dated June 9,i863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMns B. LYoNs, of the town of Litchfield, in thecounty of Litchfield, State of Connecticut, have made new and usefulImprovements in the Construction of Traverse-Beds and Gun-Carriages andOperating the Same; and I 'do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing traverse-bedsv andgun-carriages in such a manner as to prevent dismounting the gun whenbeing fired or run into battery, as most frequently the case asheretofore used and constructed, and also to prevent the many ac-Icidents that happen in handling and operating the ordnance.

To enable others skilled in the manufacture and operation of ordnance tomake and use my invention, I will proceed to more fully describe myinvention.

Figurel is a side elevation or view of a complete traverse-frame,gun-carriage, and gun in battery. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same partsand in the same position.

I make my traverse-bed of any good timber, in circular form,with severaltimbers reaching the entire diameter of the traverse and crossing eachoth er at the center of the circle. This gives me a firm base on whichto place the pintle B. A The pintle is circular,with a flange projectingfrom the upper face, a, of sufi-icient breadth and thickness to hold theframe D firmly to its place by means of the lugs I) b, that are fastenedto the frame D, but so as to admit the free revolution of the frame onthe traverse. The frame D is made of two parallel timbers, metallicplates, or with four fiat bars with intermediate studs and bolts, (whichI regard as preferable,) that are somewhat longer than the wholediameter of the traverse-bed. The ends are fastened firmly together bymeans of cross-pieces bolted across the main pieces. The rear end of theframe is made somewhat broader than the front to produce an incline toaid in ruiming the gun in battery. The frame D rests on two sets ofwheels, c c c c, attached to it by means of a cross-tree that extendsout on either side some distance to give a broader base to rest upon andprevent the gun and carriage from upsetting. The

upper surface of the sides of the frame D are so made as to form afiange on both the inner face, d d (l (l, and outward face. At the rearend of the frame D, I attach a windlass, the shaft of which reachesthrough the frame D, so as to attach ratchet-wheels e e on the outside,to be operated by pawl-levers ff, to haul the gun out of battery. Thesepawl-leversff are constructed with the hook or catch fastened outsidethe line of their centers, so that when the levers are dropped forwardthe hooks drop away from the ratchet-wheels, and leave the windlass freeto unwind when the gun moves forward into battery 5 but when the leversf f are brought to a perpendicular position the hook or catch takesfirmly hold of the ratchet, and, by alternating the levers to the rear,the gun is easily drawn back out of battery. The gun-carriage E is madein nearly the ordinary form and placed upon the frame D, and securedthere by means of lugs g y g g, to prevent tilting forward when the gunruns into battery, and dismounting the gun, or vice versa, when therecoil is checked by the compound clamp mm. rThere is a pair of wheels,h lz., attached to the gun-carriage, with axle working in free boxesthat will admit the carriage to be let down upon the face of the framewhen the gun is iired, to produce as much friction as possible on therecoil. I also have a pair of levers attached to the inner faces of thecarriage z' t' and resting upon the :axles 71. h. I also have a camshaft, k, running through the carriage-sides, with cams on the inside ofthe carriage Z Z to operate the levers i to raise the carriage to bearupon the wheels by means of thelever o o when the gun is run intobattery. I also have two chains, a a, attached to lthe center of thewindlass, and to either side of the gun-carriage, to haul the gun out ofbattery by means of the pawhlevers f f. On the outer face of thecarriage, at the rear, I attach a Wedgeshaped piece, p p, for thepurpose of checking and holding the recoil to prevent a rebound of thegun. This is accomplished by means of the combined clamp im mi. Thisclamp I make with a projecting piece to the front, the point elevated topermit the wedges p p to pass under, and also extends to the rear of thelugs r r, to give a slightly-yielding motion to the clamp when therecoil of the guncarriage forces the wedge p p under the front part ofthe clamp. To the cross-head of the clamp I attach two chains thatconnect with the gun-carriage. These chains t tare to be of such lengthas will permit the carriage to recoil any distance required before beingcheeked and held fast, and, when the gun is run into battery, will bringthe clamp to its proper place each time.

I am aware that it is not new to raise or depress gun-earriages by theuse of levers, eccentrics, Snc. This, therefore, I disclaim; but

What I do claim is- 1. The arrangement of the hand-levers o o and theircams ZZ with the axle-levers z i, op-

l erating substantiallyV asdescribed.Y

2. The arrangement of the combined fric- JAMES B. LYONS.

Witnesses:

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